Book of The Dead
by Misfit Outlaw
Summary: Drake finds the original Book of The Dead....... Please R


The Crow  
Book of the Dead  
  
  
"A black bird," Drake Corvo says sipping at his drink. "It swoops through the air towards me and lands on my shoulder. I turn around and I'm suddenly in a forest."  
Drake shifts in his seat, looking at his wife Samantha. They had married only six months earlier and bought a small, one story home. Drake's father had died three month before and left him an occult book store, his mother had died while giving birth to him. Samantha was and is the only good thing going in his life.  
"A forest," Samantha repeats, running her fingers through her dark brown hair.  
"Yeah, but its not like an ordinary forest."  
"Whats' wrong this forest?"  
"All the trees are half dead. I mean they are half dead. Right down the middle, half green, half gray. All the trees are like that, and all the dead sides are filled with black birds, like a raven or a crow or something.  
"The bird jumps off my shoulder and starts pecking around some leaves. Then I can start to make out a book. I bend down and pick it up and it is ice cold."  
"Thats weird."  
"Tell me about. Anyway, the book looks like leather but I can never take a good look at it. All the birds suddenly start cawing like crazy. I open the book and....... Thats it. Thats when I always wake up," Drake says running his hands up muscular, tattoo sleeved arms.  
"And you've been having this dream for three months and this is the first time you decide to tell me about it," Sam scorns, looking deep into her husband's eyes. One gray eye, one green.  
"I'm sorry. But the thing thats really spooky about this," Drake pauses, biting his lower lip, "The dream started the day dad's lawyer told me that dad left his book store to me. Which reminds me, did you find that key to the store basement yet?"  
"Yes. It was in your coat pocket."  
"Great. We'll go over there tomorrow and sort through the basement. Hell, we might even be able to open the store up be next week."  
  
***  
  
The Spider's Web Occult Book Store was a complete mess. Books and papers were thrown around everywhere, like somebody had been in a hurry the find something. The cash register had been pried open by looters and some of the large shelves had been knocked down.  
"God, this place looks like nobody's been here in years, not months," Samantha says, wiping some dust off the checkout counter.  
"Yeah. I think the basement door is over there by the back. You got the key," Drake asks, staring at the engraved basement door.  
"I got it," Sam says as she walks to the door and slips the key into the hole. It unlocks and they both walk down the steps together.   
Drake reaches for the light switch and the room flickers to life. Artificial light sweeps over the dank basement filled with boxes and stacks books, a single bookshelf sits against the wall under the stairs. Spider webs cover the ceiling.  
"Let's start by taking that bookshelf up stairs, then we'll take the boxes up," Drake instructs Samantha, who was already walking toward the bookshelf.  
The shelves were full books. Mostly H.P. Lovecraft and encylopedias. Both Sam and Drake started pulling the books off the shelves and stacking them on the floor.  
"Okay, you grab that side, I'll take this side. Ready?"  
Samantha nods.  
"Pull," Drake yells pulling the unusually heavy peice away from the walls. "What the fuck?"  
A door. A black door, covered in strange designs with a carved picture of a squid-looking beast. Red jewels are set into holes in the door. A black steel hook takes the place a of a knob.  
"Holy shit, Drake. What the hell is in there," Samantha askes staring at the winged squid dragon chissled into the dark wood.  
"I've got no idea. I didn't even know this was here. Goddamn." Drake runs his fingers along the door, making his way down to the hook.  
"Don't open it," Sam warns, grabbing Drakes bicep.  
"I wanna see whats in there, okay," Drake says, pulling at the hook. After four hard pulls Drake yanks the door open and a flood of light rushes out the door. A chandelier of skulls and bones smile down at the couple.   
The room is full of human skulls and statues of of demons and monsters. At the far end of the long room is a stone table with a red velvet pillow on top of it. On the wall above the table is a painting. A painting of a half dead tree. One half full of lush green leaves, the dead half full of black crows. Rows and rows of bird skeletons are line up on poles hanging from the ceiling.  
"Oh my god," Samantha gasps, brushing her hair away from her face and walking towards the stone table.  
Lying on top of the red velvet pillow is book. A leather book, it's cover looks like a face. Drake steps forward and picks up the book. It is ice cold. "Deja Vú," Drake says under his breath.  
Drake slowly pulls open the book and suddenly feels very cold. He carfully turns the pages looking at pictures of demons and words he can't read. There is a picture of a crow next to a man with lines coming up and down out of his eyes and lines forming a smile coming out of the sides of his mouth.  
"It looks like latin or something," Kyra says looking at the contents of the book over Drakes shoulder. "Didn't your dad have a friend who translated books for him?'  
"Yeah, his name is...... Brad. Brad Wesker. I think I've got his number at home. Let's, uh, finish cleaning tomorrow. I'll take this book to his place today, okay?"  
"Sure. Lets go."  
  
***  
  
"Dear God. Where did you find this," Brad asked, shocked.  
"It was in a room behind a bookshelf in the basement of my dad's shop," Drake answers, "What language is that?"  
"It's Arabic.... Dear God. Do you have any idea what this book is?"  
"No. I thought your could tell me that," Drake says, glancing at the book.  
"This book is over twelve hundred years old. It was written in the year seven hundred thirty in Damascus by a crazy arabic named Abdul Alhazred. It is bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. This book is the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. The Book Of The Dead.   
"People have spent their lives searching for this book. Aleister Crowley spent his entire life looking for the original. Most copies were lost during World War Two when a nazi became interested in occult books and tracked down all the copies. but this is no copy. This is the original."  
"Jesus. How the fuck did it end up my dad's shop," Drake askes.  
"I'm guessing, he found the original book and hid it down in the basement of his store. Where and how he found it is beyond me."  
"Uh, Brad, why don't you keep it here and try to translate it. Call me when you come up with anything important," Drake says, putting on his coat.  
"Sure. Hey Drake, I'm sorry to hear about your dad."  
"Yeah, thanks. Call me."  
  
***  
  
"Hey! What did Brad say," Samantha askes, sitting on their living room couch reading a tattered copy of a book she had found at the Spider's Web, H.P. Lovecraft's 'Call of the Chtulu'.  
Drake takes his black trench coat off and hangs it up on a hook next to the door. "Apparently, that book has one hell of a history," Drake says taking a seat next to Samantha, "It was written in Damascus by some psycho arabic guy named Abdul..... Something, but Brad said that the book is twelve hundred years old."  
"Woah. How is it still in one peice?"  
"I have no idea. But I told brad to call me once he translated someth-"  
CRASH!!!  
"What was tha-," Samantha started, but was cut short by Drakes hand over her mouth.  
"Ssshhh," Drake whispers walking to the closet and pulling out a black Louisville Slugger. Drake walks toward the dark dining room and peeks around the corner to see four men standing next to his dining room table, stuffing his things into a black duffel bag. He quickly ducks behind the wall and signals to Samantha to get out.   
Too late. The butt of a gun comes crashing down onto the back of his head. Drake quickly stands back up and swings the bat with all his might at the closest man, missing him completly. All Drake can hear over the ringing in his bloody ears is Samantha's screaming as two of the men where pinning her down to the floor.  
"Keep your fucking hands off her-" Drake says before being kicked in the ribs by another man. Drake quickly uppercuts the man in the jaw and rushes to the men ravaging his wife. Drake starts pounding on one of their faces while the other uselessly stomps at Drake's back. Drake turns and lunges on the other man, right before a bullet pierces the back of Drake's neck.  
"Kill that mother fucker," One of them screamed.   
Drake turned his head just in time to see the man he had punched pointing a gun him, another man holding a knife, and the two men were back on top Samantha.   
All Drake saw before that last shot ended his life, was a crow sitting atop his bookshelf."  
  
***  
  
"Hi! You've reached Drake and Samantha Corvo's residence. At the tone, you know what to do," The blood splattered answering machine says.  
BEEP!  
"Drake, its Brad, I've translated some of the book. Theres an entire chapter on the resurrection of the unjustly murdered. It says: 'When one should be be killed by his fellow man, the black bird can be called upon the set the wrongs right.   
To bring life back to the body one must recite these words: Katra amistrobin azonda samand dar ees heiker dan zee roadza kandar'."  
Blood starts moving off the answering machine and floods toward the lifeless body Drake Corvo. The damp stains on the white carpet and drifts to the holes in Drake's neck and head.  
"Spooky, huh? Anyway, Come on down here tomorrow and you can read it for yourself. Sorry for calling so late. Later," The recording cuts off and Drake lifts one arm and pushes himself up.  
Drake looks through is green and grey eyes to see his sweet Samantha lying on the floor, naked, her throat cut from ear to ear, stab wounds covering her torso. "No," Drake says crawling toward his wife, "Sam! Get up! Come on," Drake screams as he takes his wife into his arms, tears running down his face. Red tears. Blood.  
"I'll get them. I'll get them Samantha," Drake chokes out. He looks around the room to see nothing. All four men gone, without a trace.  
"Welcome back to the land of the living," an old man's voice says to the man holding his dead wife.  
Drake quickly scans the room to see where the voice came from. He sees a black bird perched atop his bookshelf.  
"You have been chosen to avenge your death under dark wing of the crow, Drake," the crow caws.  
"Your a bird. How are talking to me," Drake askes the black beast.  
"You had the premenitions. The verses of the book were read. This was your destiny. You must seek revenge on the men who have done the to you.... And Samantha," the crow tells Drake.  
"Wait, what verses," Drake questions the bird.  
The black bird flies down to the answering machine and pecks at one of the buttons. As Drake sits there, listening to Brad Wesker on the machine, it all begins to make sense.   
"Are you real," Drake askes.  
"Very."  
"And your not lying to me. I am actually sitting here talking to a bird who is telling me to kill people."  
"Yes. Do you want to be reunited with your beloved Samantha?"  
"Yes."  
"Than pick yourself up and follow me," the bird says.  
"Wait! I have to do something first," Drake says, looking at Samantha.  
Drake rises to his feet holding his wifes body to his chest, and walks to their bedroom. Drakes lays her body down onto their bed and walks to the closet pulling out his wife's wedding dress. He carries it to the bed and pulls it over her head. Drake lays her back down and returns the closet. He retrives a pair of black denim pants, a black T-shirt, a pair of black fingerless gloves, and a pair of black leather combat boots.  
  
***  
  
Drake stumbles into the bathroom and digs into Samantha's makeup box. He uses his memory of the picture in the necronomicon of the man's face with the black lines. He takes out a canister of white powder and smears it all across his face. Drake then pulls out a tube of blood red lipstick, the lipstick Sam was wearing the day they met, and runs it from his eyes to his forehead, then down his cheeks. He drag the lipstick along his lips and out to his ears, forming a wicked smile.  
Drake walks out to the living room and walks towards the front door. He straightens his black shirt flat against his abs and grabs his trench coat and pulls it over his tattoo covered arms and looks straight at the bird, "Let's go."  
"It's about time."  
  
***  
  
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!  
"Wait, I'll be right there," Brad Wesker says, pulling away from from the necronomicon, "Just a second."  
Brad pulls open the door to see a very calm Drake Corvo,"Drake! I didn't expect to see until tomorrow. Come in out of the rain. Whats with the makeup?"  
"Don't ask. I got your message. Tell me about the chapter you mentioned on the phone."  
"Sure. Have a seat."  
"No Thanks."  
"Suit yourself. So the chapter reads about the resurrecting of people who were unfairly murdered. It says that once the crow's mission is over, then the one who was killed will be reunited with his loved ones in the next world" Brad explains.  
"Now do you want to know anymo-" Brad turns around and Drake is gone. The door still locked with a chain.  
  
***  
  
"How am I supposed to find them? I barely saw their faces. I don't even know where to start looking," Drake yells at the crow.  
Rain is falling in the park where Drake is sitting on a bench talking to the black crow in front of him.  
"I will find them. You just have to follow me."  
The bird takes off flying and Drake runs after it amazed at his own speed. The crow flies through dark allies and in and out of abandoned buildings to an old warehouse where bird stops.  
"In there," Drake askes the perched bird.  
"That is correct, Mr. Corvo."  
Drake walks up to the door and places a hand on the door knob. With no effort at all Drake pushes the heavy doors open and steps in. Instantly their are two guns pointed at his head.  
"Your ass best be gettin' the fuck outta here before we blow yer fuckin' head off," one of them says.  
Drake grabs at his forehead in pain as a flahback kicks in.   
He sees the two men in front of him holding down Samantha.   
The flashback ends and Drake walks to them. They instantly open fire. Drake falls to the ground and the men stop firing.  
"What a fuckin' dumbshit," one of them says as he watches the man they had just unloaded to full clips into stands up and walks toward them. "What the fuck?"  
Drake grabs the man by his hair punches him the face once, completly caving in his face. Drake turns to the other man and he takes off running. Drake stands there watching him race up the stairs. Drake quickly runs up the stairs after him and turns into the room the man had entered.  
"Holy shit," Drake whispers looking around the room he had just entered. It was full, wall to wall, with drugs and weapons. The man was pointing a .357 caliber Colt Anaconda at Drake and fires, completly blowing off half of his head, right down the middle.  
"Your ass won't get up from that bitch," the man yells at the corpse on the floor. A crow lands on the open window sill and starts to caw at the man holding the smoking weapon. The man looks at the bird and then turns to see the man with half a head stand up and smile at him with half a mouth, one grey eye staring. Grey matter falling out head.  
Drake looks down and picks up a 12 gauge shotgun and aims it the man's head. Drake doesn't even fire and the man falls to the ground, dead of fright.  
"Two down, two to go," Drake tells the bird on the window sill.  
"Right. The man who shot you, and the man who killed Samantha," The crow caws, jumping to the ground and looking up at Drake.  
  
***  
  
"Why are we here? We're supposed to finding the asshole who shot me," Drake says, his head completly back to normal now, his black flat top already grown back. His makeup is only on half his face now.  
"We have found him."  
"He's inside my dad's store?"  
The bird nods.  
"Okay. Lets do this."  
Drake walks into the store and sees a bon fire of books in the middle of the store.  
Flashback.  
Drake is lying on the ground and turns his head to see a man pointing a gun at him.  
Drake walks up to the man who killed him and stares into the fire.  
"Hey, man, you wanna buy a watch? Rolex. Fifty bucks," He says, not even looking at the man next to him.  
"Thats my father's watch."  
"What? Who the fuck are you," he says, turning to the man and looking into his eyes. His grey and green eyes. "Oh shit, man. Look I had nothin' to do with what happened.  
"You liar. You shot me in the fucking head."  
"Hey, man, you shouldn't have been home. None of that would have happened. You broke my nose," He says, backing away from Drake.  
"I'm going to kill you."  
Drake puts his hand around the man's neck.  
"Say you prayers," Drake yells throwing the man into the fire.  
"Aaaaagggghhhhh!!! Oh God! Get me the fuck out!!!!!!! Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Help me!!!!!!"  
Drake stands there walking the man grow silent and convulse. He lets out one last choked scream and dies.  
Drake reaches behind the cash register and and pulls out a fire extinguisher and starts blowing the flames out. He reaches into the red hot cinders and pulls out the burned man's body. Drake drags the smoking corpse down the basement steps and pulls open the door under the stairs.   
The crow watches as Drake tosses the man onto the floor and walks back out into the basement and retrieves a claw hammer and a box of nails. Drake walks back to the room and nails the still hot body to the wall.  
  
***  
  
Drake runs after the crow as the black bird leads him to the one place he never would have expected.  
"The police station?!"  
"That is correct."  
"What, did they catch the fucker," Drake askes, staring at the barred windows.  
"No. The man who killed your Samantha...... Works here. He is a police officer," the crow says, staring down at Drake from above the station.  
"He's a cop? You want me to walk into a police station, and kill a cop," Drake says, looking at the bird.  
"Do you have a problem with that?"  
"You know, not in the least bit," Drake says, laughing.  
Drake walks up to the towering double doors and pulling them open. An officer eating donut at the front desk looks at Drake and says "Can I help you?"  
"I'm looking for police officer," Drake says.  
"Okay.... Which one? Whats with your face?"  
"I think I'll go look for him myself," Drake tells the officer.  
"Like hell you wil-" the cop starts, just before being punched in the temple, knocked unconcious.  
"Drake walks into the back room an sees a lone officer sitting at a table next to some cells.  
Flashback.  
Through the crow's eye veiw: A man pushing a switchblade into Samantha's chest.  
"You," Drake screams, points a finger at the killer in front of him, "You cut her. You killed her!"  
"Jesus Fuckin' Christ! You're dead, asshole," The cop says unholstering his gun and blasting round after round into Drake's chest. But they don't phase him. He grabs the gun from his hand tosses it across the room.  
"You didn't have to kill her. Wasn't I enough?!"  
"Fuck you," He yells.  
Drake grabs the man by his hair and drags him towards and empty cell.  
"This is for all the lives you've taken away. All of the dreams you have shattered," Drake screams, not knowing where these words are coming from. Drake kicks the cop in his stomach, knocking him to his knees. "I hope this hurts really, really, bad."  
Drake shoves the man's head to the steel bars and puts his right foot against it and pushes. the cop screams at the pressure grows and he feels his skull crack and snap. Blood starts gushing from all openings in his head. He is still alive as his brains push their way through his broken cranium, his eyes popping out of the sockets. One hard kick and Drake kills the man.   
Drake falls to ground, dying for the second time in one night.  
  
  
  
The End 


End file.
